MIDI DU FESTIVAL — OPERA AND THE PEOPLE, FROM REALITY TO REPRESENTATION: AROUND LOUISE

In his opera Louise, which premiered in 1900, Gustave Charpentier brought the people of Paris to life, thanks to his realistic staging of a panoply of characters living on the butte of Montmartre – including local tradesmen known for their distinctive shouts (the famous “Cris de Paris”). From this example, the discussion will broaden into a reflection on the representation, and sometimes even the participation, of local populaces and the “social body” in opera – in particular, through the chorus, the quintessential embodiment of a “collective” on stage.

WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF: Clément Noël (musicologist, research associate at the BnF), Juliette Rennes (sociologist, director of studies at EHESS), Benedict Kearns (choir master – Louise) and Julie Pasturaud (mezzo, roles of Marguerite and La Laitière – Louise).